Twenty five years ago I know of someone who had a wolf enclosure on her property for breeding purposes. Today the practice of having wolves in an enclosure is abhorrent to many people including myself unless it is by groups like Mission Wolf (preservation) and zoos ect.

Often people have a hard time projecting themselves back in time and remembering what was going on, what were the headlines in the newspapers ect.

I was wondering if anyone has any info on when these kinds of practice became illegal. Where they always illegal, how many permits might have been given in one year at the time if this was possible. Basically any info dating back on this subject.

I don't want opinions just facts backed up with valid links or verifiable info.

If so this would explain why someone still possess wolves on a property in 1987. The year of the birth of my daughter and dog and not six years later when I revisited the breeder. Our dog was born at the same month as our daughter and picked up when they were respectively two months old.

Also might explain why a breeder of that time would not be labeled immediately "unethical" for doing this.

I'm still researching the subject and found that different places seemed to have installed these laws earlier than in Canada. This may explain why people post answers to threads without doing research assuming whatever is going on in their country is the norm world wide.

In an effort to establish what year having a wolf enclosure became illegal I wrote to the MNR.

Their response was not very helpful:Thank you for your enquiry.

Ontario's laws have for many years prevented people from keeping the province's native wildlife as pets, recognizing that wild animals are best adapted to their natural environment. There are only a few exceptions for scientific research and educational programs such as those found in accredited zoos.

The relevant pieces of legislation under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act are as follows:

Interpretation
1. (1) In this Act,
“wildlife” means an animal that belongs to a species that is wild by nature, and includes game wildlife and specially protected wildlife. (“animal sauvage”) 1997, c. 41, s. 1 (1); 2009, c. 33, Sched. 22, s. 2 (1-4).

Interpretation – species
(4) A reference in this Act to a species includes a reference to any subspecies of the species and to any other lower taxonomic classification of the species. 1997, c. 41, s. 1 (4).
Interpretation – hybrids
(5) For the purposes of this Act, the offspring that results from the natural or artificial breeding of an animal or invertebrate, including a farmed animal, shall be deemed to belong to the species or subspecies of the parent that receives the most protection under this Act. 1997, c. 41, s. 1 (5).

Wildlife in captivity
40. (1) A person shall not keep live game wildlife or live specially protected wildlife in captivity except under the authority of a licence and in accordance with the regulations. 1997, c. 41, s. 40 (1).

Sale of animals represented as wildlife
49. A person shall not sell any animal or invertebrate that the person represents as a species of game wildlife or specially protected wildlife unless the person is authorized to sell that species of wildlife. 1997, c. 41, s. 49.

Laws of other jurisdictions
58. (1) A person shall not possess wildlife, invertebrates or fish that,
(a) were killed, captured, taken, possessed, transported, bought or sold contrary to the laws of another jurisdiction; or
(b) were removed from another jurisdiction, contrary to the laws of that jurisdiction.

End of message I received.

I guess no one on the forum knows this info. From the response I received it may be that the date of the act (1997) is the actual year in which this practice became illegal. Still seeking info if anyone out there has it.